The Burlington School comes up short vs. Word of God in 2 OTs

Published: Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 12:39 AM.

Riding the momentum of Terry Woods’ buzzer-beating, game-tying 3-pointer to end regulation, The Burlington School was in position to beat visiting Raleigh Word of God in overtime.

Until it received a dose of the medicine it gave Word of God when Alex Moore banked a 3-pointer in the first overtime to tie the game with two seconds left.

That boosted Word of God to a 95-90 victory in double overtime against The Burlington School in a non-conference boys’ basketball game that entertained a packed gym.

“We felt like we did enough in the first overtime to get them, and then to just give up that … But that was just (lack of) execution, too,” The Burlington School’s Sae’Quahn Rogers said. “It is kind of deflating, but we just had to find that energy again, go back at it.”

The Spartans (13-2) never quite found that energy in the second overtime, with Word of God scoring the first seven points of the second extra frame. The Burlington School cut its deficit to four twice, but Quentin Jackson Jr. made all six of his free throws in the final minutes to seal the victory.

Rogers and Romeao Ferguson each scored 22 points to lead The Burlington School, with Rae Villines supplying 16 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Rogers had nine rebounds.

Before Moore’s heave, The Burlington School led for nearly all of the first overtime. It was the first time since it led 12-10 in the first quarter that the Spartans had a lead.

Trailing 43-36 at halftime, The Burlington School coach Ron Johnson wasn’t pleased with how his team defended the Holy Rams (10-3) in the first half.

“That’s way more than we’d like to allow. I think that really hurt us, we just don’t really give up that many points in a half,” Johnson said. “I also feel like we turned the ball over too much in the first half. We’re going to rebound the ball and the guys were knocking the ball out of our hands.

“We talked about trying to control the tempo of the game, and you do that by No. 1, if you turn the ball over against this team it’s a fast break. You’ve got to not turn it over.”

Those issues were resolved during comebacks in the third and fourth quarters.

Ferguson provided a chunk of his scoring in the third quarter, when he scored 11 of the team’s 12 points and his three-point play tied the game at 48-48.

“Coach Johnson got on us about intensity (during halftime), and we weren’t playing as hard as we were supposed to play,” Ferguson said. “I felt like I had to do something about it, so if I got fired up, the whole team got fired up.”

Word of God scored nine straight points after Ferguson tied the game, but the Spartans never went away.

By forcing eight turnovers in the last five minutes of regulation, The Burlington School clawed its way back.

Woods, a freshman, played a poised game against the state power and had 11 points and nine assists. His game-saving shot came after Ferguson missed a contested 3 and Villines grabbed the rebound and dished to Woods, who calmly pump-faked before stroking the biggest shot of his young career.

“I like to catch it and walk into it. But I just had to get something up,” Woods said. “It felt great, at the time.”

The difference in free-throw percentage played a role, with Word of God knocking down 25 of 27 attempts. The Burlington School was 30-for-45 at the line.

But that wasn’t the biggest issue for Johnson.

“I know people are going to focus on the free throws, and those are important too … but I thought it goes back to the first half and we just mentally didn’t do some things, like we defend the way we’re capable of defending,” Johnson said.

Word of God (10-3) was led by Jackson’s 30 points and 29 points from Jaylen Fornes. Demetrius Troy chipped in 10 points.

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Riding the momentum of Terry Woods’ buzzer-beating, game-tying 3-pointer to end regulation, The Burlington School was in position to beat visiting Raleigh Word of God in overtime.

Until it received a dose of the medicine it gave Word of God when Alex Moore banked a 3-pointer in the first overtime to tie the game with two seconds left.

That boosted Word of God to a 95-90 victory in double overtime against The Burlington School in a non-conference boys’ basketball game that entertained a packed gym.

“We felt like we did enough in the first overtime to get them, and then to just give up that … But that was just (lack of) execution, too,” The Burlington School’s Sae’Quahn Rogers said. “It is kind of deflating, but we just had to find that energy again, go back at it.”

The Spartans (13-2) never quite found that energy in the second overtime, with Word of God scoring the first seven points of the second extra frame. The Burlington School cut its deficit to four twice, but Quentin Jackson Jr. made all six of his free throws in the final minutes to seal the victory.

Rogers and Romeao Ferguson each scored 22 points to lead The Burlington School, with Rae Villines supplying 16 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Rogers had nine rebounds.

Before Moore’s heave, The Burlington School led for nearly all of the first overtime. It was the first time since it led 12-10 in the first quarter that the Spartans had a lead.

Trailing 43-36 at halftime, The Burlington School coach Ron Johnson wasn’t pleased with how his team defended the Holy Rams (10-3) in the first half.

“That’s way more than we’d like to allow. I think that really hurt us, we just don’t really give up that many points in a half,” Johnson said. “I also feel like we turned the ball over too much in the first half. We’re going to rebound the ball and the guys were knocking the ball out of our hands.

“We talked about trying to control the tempo of the game, and you do that by No. 1, if you turn the ball over against this team it’s a fast break. You’ve got to not turn it over.”

Those issues were resolved during comebacks in the third and fourth quarters.

Ferguson provided a chunk of his scoring in the third quarter, when he scored 11 of the team’s 12 points and his three-point play tied the game at 48-48.

“Coach Johnson got on us about intensity (during halftime), and we weren’t playing as hard as we were supposed to play,” Ferguson said. “I felt like I had to do something about it, so if I got fired up, the whole team got fired up.”

Word of God scored nine straight points after Ferguson tied the game, but the Spartans never went away.

By forcing eight turnovers in the last five minutes of regulation, The Burlington School clawed its way back.

Woods, a freshman, played a poised game against the state power and had 11 points and nine assists. His game-saving shot came after Ferguson missed a contested 3 and Villines grabbed the rebound and dished to Woods, who calmly pump-faked before stroking the biggest shot of his young career.

“I like to catch it and walk into it. But I just had to get something up,” Woods said. “It felt great, at the time.”

The difference in free-throw percentage played a role, with Word of God knocking down 25 of 27 attempts. The Burlington School was 30-for-45 at the line.

But that wasn’t the biggest issue for Johnson.

“I know people are going to focus on the free throws, and those are important too … but I thought it goes back to the first half and we just mentally didn’t do some things, like we defend the way we’re capable of defending,” Johnson said.

Word of God (10-3) was led by Jackson’s 30 points and 29 points from Jaylen Fornes. Demetrius Troy chipped in 10 points.